SAN ANTONIO – Flashing lights atop patrol cars gave off an outward warning signal to staff and students arriving at Carl and Bunny Jean Raba Elementary School last Wednesday morning that something had gone wrong.
It turned out that a staff member, Donna Wisniewski-Balinsat, 66, had been fatally injured in a crash outside the campus.
Her son, though, found out about it in a phone call from his father.
“It’s been the hardest thing. It really has,” Neal Balinsat said, reflecting on both the phone call and the aftermath of learning his mother had died.
The San Antonio Police Department said another parent ran over Wisniewski-Balinsat in the school parking lot during morning drop-off. Wisniewski-Balinsat later died at a local hospital.
In a previous statement, the Northside Independent School District said Wisniewski-Balinsat, a retired teacher, was working as a day tutor at the school at the time.
Police said the investigation is still underway, but so far, the driver, who had her own children in the car with her at the time, is not facing any charges.
Still, Balinsat said he would like to know more about exactly what happened.
“We know that she was hit by a car. We don’t know the extent,” he said. “We don’t know a lot because there’s still an ongoing and pending investigation.”
What Balinsat said he does know, currently, is that his mother is sorely missed by himself, his brother and his father.
Balinsat described her as a kind woman who was dedicated to her family, an unwavering foundation of support.
“She helped me through everything, whenever I was a kid into adulthood,” Balinsat said. “She helped me through my heartbreaks.”
He said that includes his struggles with dyslexia as a child.
“She made me sit down and read. That was a habitual thing that we did, even though I fought her on it,” Balinsat said.
Those lessons eventually led him to follow in his mother’s career path.
Balinsat, himself, is a teacher at a local high school.
“Even on the days that were the hardest, the most rough, she’s always been, kind of, my center,” he said.
At the time of her death, Balinsat said his mother was on her way to spread joy, bringing gifts to staff members at Raba Elementary to “make them feel seen.”
Now, he is struggling to figure out how to cope with the loss.
“We had a conversation maybe a week ago, and I told her that I didn’t know what I was going to do without her,” Balinsat said. “I’m just hoping that I can still be strong while being here for my dad and my brother because it’s not easy.”
While Balinsat said he still has many questions about the crash, he does not harbor any ill will toward the driver.
Balinsat said he plans to honor his mother’s wishes for him and his family to remain positive.
“She doesn’t want us to be bitter,” he said. “She always told us that.”
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